New Jersey

Please Help! Looking For Inexpensive Wedding Venues in NJ

rmak0424rmak0424 member
First Anniversary First Comment
edited August 2013 in New Jersey
Hey everyone! My fiance and I just got engaged about 2 weeks ago and we've started to look into possible locations for our ceremony and reception. We are planning to pay for everything ourselves and we figured our budget for the reception is in the $3500 to $4000 range and our guest list is about 80 ppl. Both of us have fairly large families and so this is the bare minimum for our guest list. What we would really love is an outdoor ceremony in the fall and the reception location doesn't necessarily need to be at the same place as the ceremony. With that said, we are very flexible and opened to any suggestions that would allow us to have a nice reception for our guests within that budget and any tips or information you guys can offer about venues you know of would be greatly appreciated!

Re: Please Help! Looking For Inexpensive Wedding Venues in NJ

  • Congratulations on your engagement!  I don't know of any venues that fit your criteria off the top of my head, but I would suggest searching this board; this certainly isn't the first time this topic has come up. In the top right, click on the search box, type in some key words, and make sure the NJ board is selected.  I'm sure you'll find some suggestions.
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  • Hi!

    Congratulations on your engagement - let the planning begin! I will def agree with @PandPMeant2B - there are a number of prior threads just down below regarding the different venue searched that we have been going through.

    Also - I would recommend to negotiate the priced when you do go searching - perhaps look into Friday evening or a Sunday reception to lower down the cost of per person.

    It seems if my math is correct for a budget of $4,000 & 80 people - you are approximately looking for $50 per person? I would recommend to look into Maggianno's in Bridgewater, NJ - although it is not a banquet / wedding hall by any means - it is a very good italian restaurant that has private rooms and offers banquets, plated dinners, open bar, etc. It can be a great place to host a reception and the prices are reasonable - even for a Sat. night it will be approx. $45 - $50 per person. We are hosting our rehearsal dinner there and the banquet manager has been so helpful and amazing!

    Hope this helps :) Enjoy all the planning!!!

     

     

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  • HobokensFuryHobokensFury member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Answer Name Dropper
    edited August 2013
    As pp have pointed out your budget is about $50 including taxes and tip. In reality you have to find a place for about $35 pp.  You best bet is going to be a restaurant with a private room as I have never seen a traditional wedding venue with prices that low.
     
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  • I've done my homework on traditional banquet halls and realize they are a far cry from our budget realistically. I have found a few great suggestions reading back through previous threads, but still welcome any more anyone would like to add here. Considering our budget, we will need to do some out of the box thinking, which is part of the reason why I decided to post here. We are absolutely opened to having a restaurant reception as well as doing a Friday or Sunday, and even brunch ... We are a blank canvas, :)
  • I just got an email from T&L/Leon's catering about a special they're running for $20-25/pp for a 4 hour banquet.  I've never used this company, so I don't know how reputable they are.  If you're interested, PM me and I'll send you the link. 
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  • The Brownstone quoted around $65, but said they would be able to work with any budget. (That might cut out open bar, or make it only chicken, etc.) It might be worth a shot to call and see what options they are willing to give you.
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  • The Brownstone quoted around $65, but said they would be able to work with any budget. (That might cut out open bar, or make it only chicken, etc.) It might be worth a shot to call and see what options they are willing to give you.
    The Brownstone quoted us at $120 after taxes and and tip.  I know that they have other menus available, but its worth a look and phone call if you are flexible with the day and time of day.
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  • The Brownstone quoted around $65, but said they would be able to work with any budget. (That might cut out open bar, or make it only chicken, etc.) It might be worth a shot to call and see what options they are willing to give you.
    The Brownstone quoted us at $120 after taxes and and tip.  I know that they have other menus available, but its worth a look and phone call if you are flexible with the day and time of day.
    We were also quoted at $120, but it was for a Saturday evening.  Albert told us, though, that he would be willing to work with any budget.  He said, "Give me a price and we'll make it happen." So we did.  And NO ONE will believe that we are getting the amount we are getting for the amount of money we're spending.  
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  • The Brownstone quoted around $65, but said they would be able to work with any budget. (That might cut out open bar, or make it only chicken, etc.) It might be worth a shot to call and see what options they are willing to give you.
    The Brownstone quoted us at $120 after taxes and and tip.  I know that they have other menus available, but its worth a look and phone call if you are flexible with the day and time of day.
    We were also quoted at $120, but it was for a Saturday evening.  Albert told us, though, that he would be willing to work with any budget.  He said, "Give me a price and we'll make it happen." So we did.  And NO ONE will believe that we are getting the amount we are getting for the amount of money we're spending.  

    I can't wait either because that's where we decided on too and he told us the exact same thing.  
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  • GB520GB520 member
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    edited August 2013
    @50shadesofme & @SewInLoveWithDMB
    So I wonder would they do say $90 p/p plus tax+tip? ha ha. I really want to go there and check it out but $120 is totally out of my range. I like their conservatory looking room. Was $65 a buffet? Obviously I'd like pay less than $90 but that's my max....

    OP maybe look into B&Bs or restaurants. Where are you located? 
  • It's worth a shot. I was talking to them about afternoon weddings (not evenings) and they seemed really willing to work with any budget. Give them a call or schedule a meeting - good luck! Sounds like it could be a really good fit.
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  • @GB520

    We went with the $120 menu but the other menus were pretty enticing as well and we are getting married on a Friday night.  We did have to guarantee them a minimum of 110 people.  We are actually having our ceremony in the Grand Conservatory.  
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  • PandPMeant2B

    How was the process for the tasting?  I saw it on the other post about wedding food that you had your already.  What can I expect?
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  • I will call them for sure. Their menus look great.

    @rmak0424 maybe the woman's club (I forget what town) but search on these boards to find it. I looked at the web site a few weeks ago it looks nice. If you had a restaurant cater maybe could stick to your budget.
  • PandPMeant2B

    How was the process for the tasting?  I saw it on the other post about wedding food that you had your already.  What can I expect?
    I have heard they do group tasting for most of the couples, where it's like a big party and you get to taste all of the food.  They also invite vendors in case there are some things you still need to book.  From what I understand it's almost like a bridal expo. I think they do that a few times per year. We live out of town, though, and already had all of our vendors booked by the time our tasting came around, so he gave us a private tasting, where we were in-sync with another reception.  He roped off a corner of the bar for us to sit at and made sure the waiters came around to offer us EVERY item. After cocktails,  he moved us to a private room across from the ballroom, where we got to taste every course as it came out. It seemed like the food never stopped (neither did the bottles of wine they kept bringing us!). We were there for SIX hours and, at midnight, decided to try and catch Albert before we left.  He wanted us to book another appointment to select our cake but, unfortunately, we won't be back until a few days before the wedding.  We're really bummed that we missed out on that part, but oh well.  I hear the cakes are amazing so I'm not worried about it.  Good luck and feel free to PM me if you have any more questions. 
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  • We're on a tight budget as well and paying for everything ourselves in the hopes of not going bankrupt before our marriage! We looked everywhere and found the Versailles Ballroom at the Ramada of Toms River, NJ. After tax and service charge, we are paying $74 pp. This includes basic lighting, centerpieces, 5 hour open bar, cocktail hour, 4 hour reception, half off hotel rooms for our guests, free bridal suite for us, free bridal room for our bridal party in between, maitre d, etc. They're great to work with and respond to any and all questions within 24 hours. We decided to add a few more add-on's to our menu only because they had a bridal show and we had very easy chances to get 50% off most add-on's! 
  • Oh and the reason we received such a big package for a small price, we chose a winter wedding. If you're trying to stay within budget, I highly recommend a winter wedding!
  • we are renting the women's club in glen ridge and have munch catering do the food. we are renting the whole building but you can just rent one floor. Friday and saturday pricing is the same and our catering is about 50 per person for a cocktail hour of 10 stationary and 10 pass arounds. then we are having a salad and then a choice of chicken, beef or vegetarian and then 2 mini desserts. Then liquor we are doing on consignment so we are going to do some beer, wine, and 2 or three signature drinks and shots.

    There are other women's clubs though, there is one in englewood, ridgewood, and montclair that I know of.
  • Im going to look at the Clarion Palmer inn in Princeton off of route 1 they quote me 30-40 per person if you use their restaurant I will let you know how it goes.
  • Im going to look at the Clarion Palmer inn in Princeton off of route 1 they quote me 30-40 per person if you use their restaurant I will let you know how it goes.

    Thanks so much!!! I can't wait to hear how it goes!
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